Jordan Green says Jerry Bledsoe's epic series in the Rhino "has selectively deployed facts to present black police officers in an unflattering light, endlessly recycling allegations that were investigated under Wray, while burying information or delaying the inclusion of information for months on end that suggests their innocence."

Comments

[Bubba]

I wouldn't expect otherwise.

I wonder what took him so long to try to counter the information Bledsoe has provided?

[Brian Clarey]

Bubba:
We were waiting for the series to finish, but after almost two years we decided to go ahead with what we had.

[David Hoggard]

Probably, Bubbu, because, as Bledsoe knows as well as anyone, fact gathering, information compliling and investigative reporting take time.

I've not read Greene's piece yet, but I have noticed instances of the allegations such as what is mentioned in the excerpt Cone posted.

[Bubba]

"We were waiting for the series to finish, but after almost two years we decided to go ahead with what we had."

Ah, yes....Tabloid Wars!

Let the action start!

On the other hand, Bledsoe might just decide to ignore the challenge.

Hammer might not, though.

[Spag]

I did a cursory read of the piece. I am curious why Green made no mention of the Walt Jones letter about the garage meeting as it relates to the bad blood between Wray and Miles and the possible cause.

I also find it interesting that Mitch Johnson has no problem publicly discussing David Wray's alleged professional faults, matters that would seemingly be prohibited from disclosure by personnel records laws. Yet, when the City is asked to produce the documentation to support Johnson's public statements about how Wray did his job, they run behind those very same personnel records laws and argue they can't release the information. If Johnson wants to dish on Wray to YES! Weekly, he has forfeited/waived any claim the City might have to refuse to release the RMA report and other documents about Wray's tenure.

Maybe next time, Green can ask Johnson if he thinks it is fair to repeatedly and publicly imply wrongdoing by Wray by referring to personnel matters while at the same time having the City Attorney argue that personnel matters should not be made public.

[Ed Cone]

Most or all of the quotes from Mitch Johnson used in Green's article seem to be taken from a recording of an interview of Johnson conducted by Bledsoe. I could not tell if the quote from Johnson about Ben Brown's audit was from the tape or made to Green.

"Following his first meeting with Boswell, Bledsoe arranged for an interview with City Manager Mitchell Johnson and City Attorney Linda Miles. That conversation, which took place in April 2006, would stretch out over almost three hours. Bledsoe probed Mitchell Johnson and Miles on allegations of unethical behavior in the White administration. An audio recording of the interview was provided to YES! Weekly by the city of Greensboro."

At least one comparison of the Bledsoe/Johnson interview with the Rhino series stands out:

...Mitchell Johnson told Bledsoe. "The kind of issues that people were talking about - a great example would be, and I never even knew this existed, but was called 'badging in.' Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah," Bledsoe replied. "Oh yeah."

"Okay, and [there] was a claim that officers had been caught badging in to places and that when it was brought up it was said, 'Well, you know, we need to be saying something to them, but it's not that big of a deal.'"

In the installment published on Aug. 31, 2006, Bledsoe transposes a sentiment to Mitchell Johnson that was allegedly expressed by members of White's command staff. The passage reads: "[Johnson] found some of the other integrity issues that were raised, such as officers using their police identification cards to gain free admission to Christie's Cabaret, where topless dancers perform, to be 'no big deal.'"

[Spag]

Ed, maybe I am misunderstanding you about that last comparison- are you implying that there is some substantive difference in the way Bledsoe recounted it and the YES! portrayal? I just don't see any difference in the two other than the use of the term "Christie's Cabaret" that doesn't appear in the interview but could have been part of the conversation but not thought to be important to list at the time. The general sentiment was clearly expressed by Johnson even if it was also expressed by White.

I stand corrected on the implication that Johnson was talking to YES! I thought some of his quotes were to Green and others to Bledsoe, but they all seem to be made to Bledsoe. Nevertheless, in addition to those statements, he has made other public statements about Wray and trotted out people from RMA to make the case for a report that they refuse to release. I just don't see how they can have it both ways. We may find out very soon.

[Ed Cone]

In the taped version, the statement that badging into a topless joint is "no big deal" is attributed to a member of White's staff; in the Rhino version, the same "no big deal" characterization appears to be attributed to Johnson.

[Spag]

I see that now. I would be interested in reading the next few sentences for a little more context.

[David Hoggard]

I just finished reading Green's piece, which, forebodingly, is labeled Part 1.

Jerry B. has some 'splainin' to do.

Say what you want about Jordon Green, but the man knows how to look into things and express what he found succinctly.

Although I doubt that Green has any intention of extending this out to a Bledsoe-like "Part 43", I don't think he will have to do so to make some alternative points that many have adhered to about this whole sordid saga for some time. This installment raises enough questions to call the whole "Black & White" to task for accuracy in my opinion.

Yes! Weekly is obviously dead set on countering their weekly rival with their most liberal-minded reporter's chops, which are considerable.

This is going to be very interesting and I look forward to the next installment. I can't say that anymore about "Cops in Black & White", however. When I want to know what happened in the latest installment, I just go read Guarino's summary and take it with a grain of salt.

Jerry's point of view on Wary's story has just worn me out, I'm afraid.

[Spag]

I guess the bigger question is if the alleged inaccuracies survive scrutiny, are they substantive enough to negate the big picture painted by Bledsoe in the Rhino. I will have to read the YES! piece again, and I think Jerry, John and Willie should respond.

Paper Wars! Paper Wars! All we need now is Patti Stokes from the Northwest Observer (who has no dog in this fight at all but puts out a lot of ink every week) and we can have an all out battle royal. Or we can call in Dr. Phil and Brian, the Hammers, John Robinson and Patti can try to hug it out. Or maybe they can all go on Longworth.

[Spag]

David, one more thing. I am a bit puzzled why such a liberal paper as YES! is so interested in defending the establishment. The truth is the truth, but is this about the truth or about busting the Rhino's chops based on ideology?

This is the weirdness of Greensboro. The anti-establishment rebels are the conservatives. It's usually the other way around.

[Ed Cone]

I think it's healthy for media outlets to fact-check each other.

Pursuing the truth shouldn't be a partisan endeavor -- journalists are supposed to tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may.

In any case, this story doesn't necessarily break down along easy or consistent conservative/liberal lines, although a lot of people seem to view it that way.

[Spag]

I'm not breaking it down left/right, rather it is more status quo vs. the rebels. Typically, conservatives are status quo almost by definition. In Greensboro, the papers associated with being left of center, the N&R and YES! seem to defend the establishment and the status quo on most matters.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is an interesting dynamic.

[Spag]

I also think it would be worthwhile for Jordan to question why the N&R selectively deployed facts to paint Wray as a racist. Things like the black book and the alleged disparate treatment as detailed in the original stories haven't held up either. The N&R will say they were only reporting the story, but they made a point of selectively highlighting points damaging to Wray in the beginning and have made little effort to highlight the errors in those points when they became apparent.

YES! could really gain a lot of credibility if they challenged the accuracy of both papers. That would be pretty rebellious if you ask me.

[Bubba]

"YES! could really gain a lot of credibility if they challenged the accuracy of both papers. That would be pretty rebellious if you ask me."

That's your cue, Clarey.

What about it?

[Ben Holder]

here is my take, I am sure most of you have alreay seen it. But, as a courtesy, I will link it at this blog.

http://thetroublemaker.blogspot.com/2008/01/selectively-deployed-facts-jordan-green.html

Now there is a Hogg I would like to speak with

Hogg wrote:"Say what you want about Jordon Green, but the man knows how to look into things and express what he found succinctly."

When reading Green's latest work, there was an odd statement from Pat Boswell. From the most recent story: "Before the first installment was published, Bledsoe had interviewed key members of Greensboro city staff in the spring of 2006. One angle of inquiry caught spokeswoman Pat Boswell off guard."

"I left very concerned about questions he asked and statements he made about the current police controversy being connected to what happened in 1979 with the Klan-Nazi shootings. He specifically tied Nelson Johnson into both issues, which is where my ears pricked up. I thought, 'What in the world does Nelson Johnson have to do with this?' I was not here in 1979, but I certainly had not heard anything like that. I thought the questions and comments were odd," Boswell reported to Green.

Now let us review what Green wrote months before Jerry talked with Pat.

Jordan, in YES Weekly, February 2006: Rev. Johnson, a polarizing figure in Greensboro, alleges that the group of “cowboys” referenced by Chief White is an evolving cast of “rogue” police officers who, in 1979, conspired to allow the Klan and Nazis to murder his colleagues in the Communist Workers Party and then took part in the cover-up. More recently, under departed Chief David Wray, who is white, a new generation of the same group carried out a campaign of intimidation and harassment against black police officers, Johnson said."

Jerry interviewed Pat Boswell in April 2006, two months after Jordan's article specifically tied Nelson Johnson into both issues. Green printed Boswell saying this about Bledsoe:He specifically tied Nelson Johnson into both issues, which is where my ears pricked up. I thought, 'What in the world does Nelson Johnson have to do with this?'

Jordan could have answered that for Boswell in great detail by citing what he reported in Feb of 2006. Why did that particular Boswell statement make Green's latest story and stand alone without any reference to Green's earlier article? When I look at that Boswell statement, knowing what Green had previously reported, I would expect Green to give some background.

In all reality, Bledsoe could have made questions that he got from Green's earlier work. But Green puts it out like it was odd for Bledsoe to ask such questions when Green wrote about it first.

Lemme give you a better example: Jordan Green tells me that you are off of your diet. I confront you about it and you get mad and stomp away. Later in the day, you have a date with Jordan and you tell him about me confronting you about cheating on your diet. You say, "I do not know where Ben got that idea," and Jordan just shrugs his shoulders.

Ed,
Glad to have you back to the local scene. Your blog was getting boring.

[Billy The Blogging Poet]

Ed said, "I think it's healthy for media outlets to fact-check each other."

And I agree, but part of the problem lies in the fact that locally they rarely do. Case in point, I've been arguing with John Robinson since Dec 22 to fact check the Northwest Observer but John explained to me that wasn't the News & Record's job.

No matter how this thing between Jordan and Jerry turns out I look forward to more of it.

[Fred Gregory]

I am not sure that it is all that clear if Whites command told Mitch that it was no big deal ( officers badging their way into a strip joint ) or if that was his sentiment expressed to Bledsoe by Johnson. Nevertheless at the time ( during the White administration ) assuming the Yes assumption version of the tape , Johnson heard about misconduct and sat silently by, thus approving of the practice by passive agreement .

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is ". Jordan you are matching the master of parsing.

[Spag]

Billy, what is your beef with the NWO about?

[Nick]

I think at this point peoples minds are made up and will not be changed any further by the Yes Weekly articles or the Bledsoe articles. However, I am very happy to see Yes take on the Rhino Bledsoe articles accuracy. I mean lets be real, the Rhino has never been something to read for its objectivity. In my opinion, the Rhino has enjoyed way too much influence with its innuendo and gossip and "gotcha" articles. I burned out on the Bledsoe articles long ago. I pick them up just to see how many different ways Hammer can come up with to slam the City Manager. It appears to me his articles against the manager have become very personal.

[Ian McDowell]

I'm not an uncritical defender of Hammer and The Rhino. I think he's a cynical opportunist who (to use one example)denounces Giuliani for infidelity while publishing a column aimed at attracting advertising money from downtown nightclubs (some rumored to be mob-owned) by making it look like even a schlubby grey-haired fifty-something can get laid there.

Still, I don't think he's a racist and my take on "Cops In Black and White" is that it's performed a valuable service by asking some questions nobody else was asking. This doesn't mean it shouldn't be fact-checked or that the truth doesn't lie somewhere in between the competing claims, but without Bledsoe's work, the News and Record version would have been the only one out there. For years I'd been hearing, from liberal African-Americans, not white conservatives, about alleged ties between one or more African-American criminal organizations in Greensboro and several African-American officers in the GPD, but Bledsoe is the first journalist I've seen address this in print.

While I don't question Jordan Green's (or Brian's) integrity, I am a bit troubled by the former's friendship with Lorraine Aherne. I don't think she's the crook or patsy that the more rabid callers to the Sound of the Beep tend to paint her as being, but she's been slammed pretty fiercely by Bledsoe, and so I'm not sure that a friend of hers is the best person to write this expose.

[Ben Holder]

ummmm...Hoggy?

[Bubba]

"While I don't question Jordan Green's (or Brian's) integrity, I am a bit troubled by the former's friendship with Lorraine Aherne."

Thanks, Ian. I was not aware of that.

How very interesting.

What other dynamics are at work on the Green/Yes piece?

[Ed Cone]

The alleged friendship between Jordan Green and Lorraine Ahearn -- like the friendships and rivalries among players from the city, police, the Rhino, and the blogosphere -- should not obscure documented facts and sound analysis.

That's not to say full disclosure -- of all relationships (Bledsoe/N&R, Holder/Carmany/various cops, Hammer/King, etc) is irrelevant.

GSO can be a very small place. Here's a disclaimer I wrote last year -- I've since met Mitch Johnson at the blogger session he hosted, and I could add that I've met Jordan Green a few times and have remarked publicly on his skills as a reporter, I have a friendly if volatile relationship with Ben Holder, Locke Clifford is a friend, etc...

I've never met Mitch Johnson or David Wray...I do know a lot of the players in the larger story. I grew up reading and admiring Jerry, and have enjoyed his friendship and support as a journalist for many years. I've had any number of issues with the Rhino over tone and content, but that doesn't diminish my gratitude to John Hammer for giving me lots of space and freedom as a Rhino columnist, or change the web of friendships between me and my family and John and Willy and their families. I've met Lorraine Ahearn only a handful of times, but have traded email with her and talked on the phone with her as I've tried to understand this story, and she's been frank and gracious. John Robinson was my editor, briefly, when he ran the N&R op-ed page; our relationship was distant and not especially collegial -- we've developed a friendlier relationship as he's moved into blogging, and I've become a vocal supporter of his efforts to webify his newspaper. All of which is to say, it would be hard for me to pick a side based on personal relationships if I wanted to...

[Roch101]

Ed said, "I think it's healthy for media outlets to fact-check each other."

Billy is correct in his observation that N&R editor JR disagrees. He has plainly said so, in the NWO matter Billy mentions, and previously regarding the Rhino's reporting of the Wray affair. JR's position is that such fact-checking is not his paper's responsibility.

[Joe Killian]

I know Jordan and Lorraine, but I don't have the sense that they're friends.

I could be wrong about that, but where does that idea come from?

I work with Lorraine and Jordan and I have mutual friends, but if I had to write something unflattering or damning about them as part of my job, I wouldn't flinch from it. There's a difference between knowing someone in what is really a small town where just about everyone mixes and being so close to someone you have a conflict of interests.

[Ian McDowell]

Ed and Joe raise valid points about the comparative smallness of this town and impossibility of not having familiar and cordial relationships with people one may some day write about. I've grumbled about Mr. Green's prose before, but I've never felt he was unprofessional, and people who know journalism better than I do respect his skills as a reporter.

I don't know either Mr. Green or Ms. Aherne, but I recognize the former on sight and my only evidence for thinking of them as friends consists of nothing more than having stood near him outside a local coffee shop while he spoke on his cellphone to a "Lorraine." I'd just read the latest installment of "Cops in Black and White," which dealt with Ms. Aherne's association with Lt. Hinson, so my ears pricked up when Mr. Green asked "Lorraine" how she felt about about having just become a character in the Bledsoe saga.

The impossibility of NOT overhearing (one side of) private conversations in public places is one reason why I f**king hate, hate, hate, HATE cellphones, those damnable tools of Satan. But that's a subject for another rant at another time.

[Verizonman]

Re: "my only evidence for thinking of them as friends consists of nothing more than having stood near him outside a local coffee shop while he spoke on his cellphone..."

Ah, but thanks to the miracle of cellular eavesdropping technology, Ian, we can now bring you the OTHER end of that conversation.

FEMALE VOICE: I'm scared, Jordan... I'm actually trembling. Jerry is such a muscular writer, such a masterful reporter, and now, he's turned his pentetrating, unibrow gaze on little old me! (SOBBING) You've got to help me, Jordan. I can't stand the pressure! I can't eat. I can't sleep. I've always depended on the kindness of strangers. But now, I could be out on the streets. Living in my car. Sleeping with a shotgun under my pillow. Writing moview reviews for ESP. And God as my witness, I'll never be hungry AGAIN.

[Brian Clarey]

Sometimes we say around here that there is no such thing as a conflict of interest in Greensboro. But here's a disclosure:
I worked for the Rhino in 2003, writing real estate articles. Way to spot the talent, fellas. I met John Hammer once, at a NC Press awards thing last year.
I worked for the N&R off and on from 2001 to 2004.
I am indeed friends with Lorraine — I love an Irish gal from Long Island. I am unqualified to comment on the nature of her relationship with Green.
I eavesdrop all the time.
I have never met Jerry Bledsoe.
Yes, we got Bledsoe's interview tapes from the city, and we are considering posting them on the blog for all to see and interpret in their own way.
I don't particularly mind being called a liberal, but I don't think it's true. I'm for fiscal conservatism, small government and personal freedoms. But the meanings of the words 'liberal' and 'conservative' have become twisted in these last few years.
Spags: You are right that there is an interesting dynamic at work re. the status quo and rebellion. I like to stick it to The Man as much, if not more so, than the next a-hole. But I also don't like bullies and I don't like lies. Even the sweet little ones. I go where the truth leads me.
And hold on to your hats, kids. There's another installment next week.

[Spag]

If the female voice really said that,Verizonman, she would have a real shot at winning in New Hampshire if she decided to run for office- as long as she did it in front of the cameras.

Brian, I have no problem with you or any other publication looking for the truth. I will point out that someday we need to have a conversation as to why fiscal conservatism and smaller government may be incompatible or unable to coexist with social liberalism.

Anyway, your story has obviously inspired a worthy conversation about the local media. I would love to get you, Jordan, Jerry, John & Willie, Robinson and Ahearn all in a room to discuss this story. Now there's an idea for ConvergeSouth.

[Timbo]

I read the Green article and it doesn't seem to do much damage to the Bledsoe series. It just nibbles around the edges, nitpicking. This for example: "...that when it was brought up it was said, 'Well, you know, we need to be saying something to them, but it's not that big of a deal.'" The way it is punctuated, it seems clear, but the second clause of the included quote could be interpreted as an aside reflecting Mitch Johnson's opinion. I think that's how Jerry took it.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have known Ian for 25 years and still hang out with him, have waited on Ed when I used to work for an unnamed national quick copy chain, known people who have lived in Hogg's neighborhood, dated a former girlfriend of Roch in 1982, know Jordan on sight, my daughter took art lessons with Lorraine's kid, am a friend of a friend of Hammer's sister-in-law, lived in the same county as Bledsoe, and have an intense desire to find out who is pissing on Bubba's cornflakes everyday (and give him a pint from me for tomorrow)..

[Brian Clarey]

Spags: Hah! The tears get 'em every time.
I am glad you don't have a problem with publications looking for the truth. And yeah, we should hang. I'd like to know why "social liberalism" and small government are mutually exclusive. Hit me up.

[jw]

"I worked for the Rhino in 2003, writing real estate articles."

No biggie, Brian. You can't swing a dead cat in this town without hitting someone who written for Rhino Real Estate. Half of our adjuncts have. It's kind of like finding a grad student in Chapel Hill who hasn't scored tests for MI.

It is a mighty small world here in GSO.

[Ben Holder]

Clarey,

Why did Jordan use the Boswell statement in the story without revealing his Feb 2006 story about restoring white power at the gpd?

"Before the first installment was published, Bledsoe had interviewed key members of Greensboro city staff in the spring of 2006. One angle of inquiry caught spokeswoman Pat Boswell off guard."

"I left very concerned about questions he asked and statements he made about the current police controversy being connected to what happened in 1979 with the Klan-Nazi shootings. He specifically tied Nelson Johnson into both issues, which is where my ears pricked up. I thought, 'What in the world does Nelson Johnson have to do with this?' I was not here in 1979, but I certainly had not heard anything like that. I thought the questions and comments were odd," Boswell reported to Green.

Now let us review what Green wrote months before Jerry talked with Pat.

Jordan, in YES Weekly, February 2006: Rev. Johnson, a polarizing figure in Greensboro, alleges that the group of “cowboys” referenced by Chief White is an evolving cast of “rogue” police officers who, in 1979, conspired to allow the Klan and Nazis to murder his colleagues in the Communist Workers Party and then took part in the cover-up. More recently, under departed Chief David Wray, who is white, a new generation of the same group carried out a campaign of intimidation and harassment against black police officers, Johnson said."

Jerry interviewed Pat Boswell in April 2006, two months after Jordan's article specifically tied Nelson Johnson into both issues. Green printed Boswell saying this about Bledsoe:He specifically tied Nelson Johnson into both issues, which is where my ears pricked up. I thought, 'What in the world does Nelson Johnson have to do with this?'

Jordan could have answered that for Boswell in great detail by citing what he reported in Feb of 2006.

[Brenda Bowers]

I am only surprised at the number of people commenting here, and especially the journalist, who failed to pick up on Jordan Green's one most blatant and egregious journalistic shenanigan. Brenda Bowers

[Roch101]

"dated a former girlfriend of Roch in 1982" -- Timbo

Phashizzle? Do tell.

[Brian Clarey]

Trub:
Jordan will make his explanations after the series runs its coursenext week. But I suppose he'll answer your question like this:
Our Feb 2006 piece was an exploration of the possible connection between the two events, as some of the players were the same. The piece was inconclusive, which I believe you consistently mock us for. And the assertion was a quote from Nelson Johnson, not a statement of opinion by us. Because opinion pieces and news stories are different.
And are you as outraged at Bledsoe as you were at Jordan Green for following this line of questioning, or are you just looking to shit in our punchbowl?

Brenda: What the hell are you talking about? And who says 'shenanigan'?

[Ever notice?]

Why is it Ben Holder is profane, seemingly unable to punctuate or form complete sentences and just generally a poor writer until someone says something about Wray and/or Bledsoe?

Then he or whoever's posting for him becomes as eloquent as, say, a veteran journalist or a writer/editor from a Greensboro weekly. Multiple personality disorder or something simpler?

[ben holder]

Bri:

Outraged? I just asked a question. Geesh, calm down.

Jerry interviewed Pat Boswell in April 2006, two months after Jordan's article specifically tied Nelson Johnson into both issues. Green printed Boswell saying this about Bledsoe:He specifically tied Nelson Johnson into both issues, which is where my ears pricked up. I thought, 'What in the world does Nelson Johnson have to do with this?'

Jordan could have answered that for Boswell in great detail by citing what he reported in Feb of 2006 to Boswell. However, if he kept it silent and hidden he could work her statement into his hit piece and make it seem like Bledsoe was the one connecting those dots.

Most of Green's work is inconclusive. Would you consider the latest news or opinion. Honestly, I haven't seen many news stories appear in Yes Weekly.

[Anonymous]

In any town where a reporter or editor spends a lot of time, it is simply impossible to disclose everyone that you know who may or may not have an interest in a story. For someone to say that Jordan Green should disclose that he knows or talks to a reporter at the News & Record because that paper also covers the same topic is simply asking too much.

In a town the size of Greensboro, there are many times when you've met someone over lunch or coffee, go to their same church, met them at a civic group meeting, or whatever.

If there is a financial relationship (like owning stock in a company you are reporting on) or perhaps if you have a blood relation to a subject in a story, then it is a different matter. But a casual relationship? Come on -- the disclosures would be longer than the actual story.

By the way, as a matter of disclosure, I have read Yes Weekly, the Rhino Times, the News & Record, and even one of Bledsoe's books.

[Spag]

Jeez, Brian. You were only 12 when you dated Roch's ex? Do 7th grade relationships even count? Must have been a real Winnie Cooper. How old was Roch?

[Spag]

Anonymous, I kind agree with what you are saying on one level. Yet, I think the point that I raised before was whether YES! was interested in examining the "selectively deployed facts" as reported in the N&R with equal fervor as they have gone after the Rhino.

The suggestion was made by someone else that perhaps Greens relationship with the central figure who wrote those N&R stories could explain why YES! or at least Green might decline engaging in such an examination.

I think that is a fair point to raise. On the other hand, YES! is under no obligation to report on the N&R whether they agree with the way the N&R reported the Wray story or not.

[David Hoggard]

Agreed that full disclosure is irrelevant except for blood and money. The truth is what I am intersted in.

For the record I have met and spoken with nearly all of the players except for for the men/women in uniform who appear throughout this saga (Never met Thornbull either).

Hell, my business is in the basement of the Rhino and I speak with either Willie or John most every day and consider them friends. But that should not preclude me from disagreeing with what appears in the Rhino anymore than I should not question things that appear in the N&R, for whom I write a column now and again.

As for Holder and his multiple writing personalities mentioned above: I have been one of those who has suggested that Ben puts out work that he probably didn't write. I no longer believe that.

I have gone back and read some of his Peacemaker articles and they are extremely well written. He can do it when he wants, or he can be as profane as a street urchin. All the same guy.

Also for the record, Ben and I are good friends. Go figure.

Brian, I'm looking forward to the nexgt installment. It might just make me fire my blog back up.

[Spag]

Agreed, Hoggard. Ben wouldn't have gotten a job as a writer if he couldn't write. Blog posts are often written quickly without editing and all of us have made spelling and grammatical errors as a result. I do it all the time because I post quickly and always forget to proofread.

For the record, I have met John Hammer on a few occasions. The only people at the N&R that I have met are Allen Johnson and Doug Clark (when he was with the HPE and I was running for office). I have met Yost a few times. I have met Ed, Roch, Bubba, Meblogin, Sue, David Wray, Jaycee, Dr. Frank and I go way back, and Cara.

I have never met Bledsoe, John Robinson, Brian, Ahearn, Hoggard, Ben, Jordan Green or Mitch Johnson.

[Brenda Bowers]

Brian Clarey, "Journalistic shenanigan" is a trick or twist or word play to color a story to the reporter's view. The Rhino is quite up front and open about their "shenanigans". Jordan Green however denies using anything but the truth in this article. His Journalistic Shenanigan is therefore underhanded and egregious as I said. We101, AND SO I GO posted at 11:05 am "Lessons in Journalistic Shenanigans from Jordan Green"
Brenda Bowers

[Fred Gregory]

BB,

You go girl !

[Jeffrey Sykes]

I guess because the words sum up my impression of the entire conversation surrounding this issue and the images in the video express the same thing the Rhino and Yes Weekly promote on page after page of their respective publications, I submit this for your approval:

"Mountain Song"

Comin' down the mountain
One of many children
Everybody has
Their own opinion
Everybody has
Their own opinion
Holding it back
Hurts so bad
Jumped out of my flesh
And i said
Cash in!
Cash in now honey
Cash in now
Cash in now
Cash in now honey
Cash in miss smith
Cash in now!
I was comin' down the mountain
Met a child she had pin eyes
We had the same opinion
Had the same opinion
She was holding it back
It hurts so bad
Jumping out of her flesh
And i said
Cash in!
Cash in now honey
Cash in now
Cash in now
Cash in now honey
Cash in miss smith
Cash in now!

By the way, lost in all this is how effective of a police department do you have in Greensboro and how can a commanders like Hinson and James be effective in their duties in the midst of this unending circus?

[Jonathan Jones]

Interesting that Part 22 (Police Info Up for Sale)of Cops in Black & White is no longer available from the Rhino's archive.

If I recall correctly, that's the article that contained many of the statements cited in the lawsuit.

[Bubba]

"If I recall correctly, that's the article that contained many of the statements cited in the lawsuit."

And.........?